J.C. Penney’s Is Selling Sexism. But What Parents Are Buying It?

J.C. Penney’s is getting some push back for marketing this unbelievably idiotic t-shirt to girls. Girls size 7-16 can wear this “comfy jersey, cotting, washable, imported” shirt. And parents will be pleased to know that it’s only $9.99! Down from the original price of $16.99. As the marketing material from J.C. Penney’s says, “Who has time for homework when there’s a new Justin Bieber album out? She’ll love this tee that’s just as cute and sassy as she is.”

A tee that’s just as stupid as you want your daughter to be, sounds more like it.

I’ve previously written about my disdain for egocentric T-shirts (See, for example, ‘I’m #1.’ No, You’re Not. And Take Off That Egocentric T-Shirt.) I argued that self confidence is earned through hard work. Egocentric shirts that suggest to your daughter that she’s a princess or number one are bad enough on their own. Overtly teaching your daughter to value surface-level appearances over hard work and smarts? That’s insane.

And while I think J.C. Penney’s deserves every bit of opprobrium it’s going to receive for marketing this shirt, I’m much more appalled that there is a market for this shirt.

This shirt would have never made it to market if parents made better buying decisions. Indeed, there are over a dozen “likes” recorded for this shirt at the J.C. Penney’s web site. What parent in his or her right mind “likes” such a shirt?

So let’s condemn both J.C. Penney’s for selling such harmful idiocy and those parents who think that a shirt such as this even comes close to being a good idea.

And a final note. The shirt, in terms of its design and aesthetics, is just wretched. There is no need to present such horrible design to a child. It’s messy, looks like it’s from the 1980s, and is of embarrassing low quality. Even if the content doesn’t offend you, the design should appall you.